Chicken Nachos is everything you know and love about nachos, made with juicy shredded Mexican CHICKEN! With mandatory melted cheese, quick guac and a dollop of sour cream, this nachos recipe is weekend worthy yet easy enough for dinner midweek.
You’ll love how juicy and flavour loaded the chicken is!
Chicken Nachos
I have it in my head that when most people think of nachos, they automatically think of a ground beef/ mince topping, like this Beef Nachos.
I have absolutely nothing to back me up on that statement, it’s just my personal opinion. 😇
So the entire premise on which I’m sharing this CHICKEN nachos recipe is that it’s something a little bit different to the usual. A nachos so outrageously delicious, a certain food blogger was inhaling pictured nachos like she was never going to eat again.
Lift / munch / eat / repeat. Now that’s an arm workout I’m happy to do many reps of!
Chicken Nachos ingredients
So here’s what goes in my Chicken Nachos. I make it with just essential toppings because the chicken itself is loaded with great flavour.
1. Juicy shredded Mexican Chicken – the exact same recipe I use for Chicken Tacos, except I reduce the sauce down a bit more (thicker sauce = crisper chips)
2. Quick Guac – it’s a dump and mash job. Potato masher, to be exact. Avocado, coriander/cilantro, lime, salt and pepper, mash as you would potato. Very effective!
3. Cheese – a nachos without cheese doesn’t exist in my world 😇
4. Jalapeno, coriander/cilantro and sour cream – basic toppings. A touch of freshness goes a long way with nachos!
Best cheese for nachos?
My favourite cheese for Nachos is Monterey Jack because it has flavour with a bit of stretch like Mozzarella, and it melts well without going greasy but doesn’t get that crusty brown top like Mozz (which is not a good thing for nachos, can end up pulling entire layer of cheese off).
Cheddar, tasty cheese, Colby and shredded Mexican Cheese blends are also firm faves, but any melting cheese will do here.
🇦🇺Australia – I get Monterey Jack and shredded Mexican Cheese blends at Costco. Excellent value – and the shredded cheese freezes 100%.
Chicken for Nachos
And here are the ingredients that go in the chicken for Nachos which, as mentioned above, is the exact same recipe I use for Chicken Tacos. (PS For the chicken, thigh, breast or tenderloin all work great here)
How I make nachos in the oven
This recipe is a nachos that’s baked in the oven, but I’m also going to tell you how to make it in the microwave. Because while one might turn their nose up at the thought of microwave nachos, it’s a damn convenient option to have for various circumstances one might encounter in life (including emergency munchies, and also the millions / billions of people in the world who don’t have ovens eg. much of Asia).
To bake it in the oven, it’s as simple as a double layer situation: chips -> chicken -> cheese -> repeat -> bake 5 minutes.
Guess what? Nachos chips DO NOT GO SOGGY if you microwave them! Cheese melts darn fast in the microwave. 🙂 Way faster than it takes for corn chips to become soggy!
How to make nachos in the microwave
To make nachos in the microwave:
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make dinner plate size single layer batches
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spread one layer of chips on a plate
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top with chicken then cheese
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microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the cheese to become bubbly
And here’s proof that the chips don’t go soggy – all the cheese pull shots were done with a quick microwave to remelt the cheese. And it took many MANY takes!!😂
A big, fat, juicy, cheesy nachos recipe
I am a firm believer that a Nachos should be able to stand on its own two feet even without extra toppings like guacamole and sour cream.
So I promise you this – the chicken topping for this nachos recipe has flavour aplenty, plus it’s nice and juicy so you’d happily devour this nachos even if you find yourself short on toppings.
As long as you have cheese.
I take no responsibility for devourability if you attempt this without cheese! ~ Nagi x
More weekend worthy munchies
-
Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread – if you haven’t tried it, you haven’t lived…
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Homemade Movie Popcorn – ultra buttery, and stays crisp for DAYS!
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Spring Rolls! PS They can even be baked!
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Crispy Roasted Parmesan Potatoes – seriously so good to munch on as a snack!
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Browse for more Weekend Munchies
For complete transparency – the nachos you see in the video is about 2/3 of the recipe below which serves 4. I wanted it to fit on a cake pan so it looked decent for photos, rather than having a pile in the middle of a baking tray.
But of course, as it always happens when I try to be efficient and do the photos and video using the same batch, the nachos was completely butchered after shooting the video so I had to make it again for photos!
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
Nachos
- 250g / 8 oz tortilla or plain corn chips (Note 1)
- Shredded chicken for nachos , recipe follows
- 250g / 8 oz (2.5 cups) shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (Note 2)
- Quick guacamole , recipe follows
- Toppings: Sour cream, Coriander / cilantro leaves, Jalapeno , sliced or chopped
Chicken for Nachos
- 700 g / 1.2 lb chicken thighs or breast , skinless boneless (Note 3)
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 cup (250ml) chicken broth, separated (liquid stock)
Homemade Nachos Meat Seasoning
- 3 tbsp lime juice (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tsp EACH garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano
- 3 tsp EACH cumin powder, paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each
Quick Guacamole
- 2 avocados , medium
- 3 tbsp coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp lime juice (1 large)
Instructions
Chicken for Nachos
- Place Nachos Seasoning ingredients in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp of the chicken broth and mix to form a loose paste.
- Add chicken, turn to coat in paste.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken for 3 minutes on each side (reserve paste left in bowl). Remove chicken into a shallow dish.
- Return skillet to stove. Add remaining chicken broth, tomato paste, sugar and scrape in any paste left in the bowl. Mix to dissolve, scraping base of pan, and bring to simmer.
- Meanwhile, shred chicken with forks, or chop (don't worry if raw inside).
- Return chicken into sauce, toss and simmer for 3 minutes until sauce reduces down to a thick sauce. Adjust salt to taste. Keep warm.
Quick Guacamole:
- Place ingredients in a bowl. Use potato masher to mash to desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Nachos:
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Place half the corn chips slightly overlapping on a tray. Top with half the (warm) chicken and cheese.
- Top with remaining chips and cheese. Bake 7 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Garnish with coriander/cilantro and jalapeño. Serve immaterial with quick Guacamole and sour cream.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I went to the bathroom and came back to find him in THIS position….
Note the fluffy white blanket at the bottom. That covers HIS designated section of the sofa. So not only has he left drool on my MacBook, he’s breached his sofa boundary.
Naughty Dozer!
Maria says
So easy to make and super delicious with tonnes of flavour 😋
Kara Luker says
This was absolutely delicious!
Helen Townes says
unfortunately I have the “I loathe coriander” gene and it can make me quite ill – what can you suggest as a substitute – I can only think of rocket or watercress – I doubt parsley would work all that well
Nagi says
Hi Helen – just leave it out then! Plenty of flavour there without it!! N x
Kathy says
Great recipe and especially love the instructions for making individual plates in the microwave. Does anyone have suggestions on how to make this vegetarian, i.e. a vego vehicle for the nacho seasoning? I’m thinking red kidney beans + ???
Thilani says
I always use red kidney beans 🙂
Barb says
I use corn kernels and black beans for the chicken and sometimes mash the beans with the spice mix and some salsa.
Kathy says
Yummo, I’ll have to try that too, thanks Barb!
Kathy says
So I was reading the recipetin Heinz baked beans copycat post and saw ‘nachos’ mentioned! I added the nachos dried herbs and spices (garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, cumin powder, paprika, cayenne pepper) to some of the beans, and it worked really well! Too easy 🙂
Jessica says
This was fabulous! My fussy children also enjoyed it. We love every recipetineats recipe we have made. Thanks!
Maeve Devlin says
Easy to make, unbelievably delicious! Will be making again, a lot
Carol says
Wow! Absolutely yum. We ate far too much but it was sooo good. This will definitely go into my Love It file. One to make again and again. Thank you Nagi.
Samantha says
This is one of our most favourite Naggi recipes! I am wondering if the chicken can be precooked and frozen? Would love to take it camping 🏕
Nagi says
Yes 100% Samantha, perfect to freeze! N x
Jessica says
One of our favorites! So flavorful and easy to make! We absolutely LOVE it!
Shaz says
Love this one! We made it as a snack and ended up finishing the entire lot so didn’t need any dinner! Chicken was really tasty – will be making it again soon..
Jasmine Murray says
Hey Nagi! I’ve made this recipe plenty times before and it’s absolutely amazing!! I was wondering though, can this been done in a crockpot?
David says
Awesome recipe! Huge hit for mom’s birthday. Pretty easy to follow. I added a little more spices and lime juice just to give it a little more kick, turned out perfectly.
Jessica says
We LOVED this recipe!!! We’ve even switched it up a bit and had the chicken as tacos. It is so flavorful and easy to make!
Susan says
I really enjoy your site. You have lots of good information and good recipes.!
Marisol says
Did it! tastes wonderful really good flavor..Next time though I will double the sauce not enough for our taste. Thank you.
Grant Dexter says
The chicken was so amazing. Great receipe!
Freya says
Just made this with chicken mince and it was soooo good!
Rene says
How would you go cooking it in the slow cooker with the chicken and sauce with the stock?
Judy says
Awesome recipe! I added chipotle instead of cayenne because that’s what I had . Turned out great! A keeper for sure
Michelle says
As simple and delicious as all of your meals are!
Another favourite to add to the list 🙂
Just a wee error on the nachos instructions – point 4. Should it say serve immediately instead of immaterial?
Nagi says
Thanks Michelle! Will fix now! N x